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Book Reviews

tion of post-Civil War political intrigue along the far-westernborder of Texas, the eternal struggle that characterizes the com-mon human tendencies toward avarice and quest for personalpower, and that peculiar border phenomenon which, for want ofa more exact label, is usually defined as racial conflict. Particular-ly striking is Sonnichsen's deft etching of character, which ispointedly demonstrated in the writer's portraits of Charles W.Howard, Louis Cardis, and especially Father Antonio Borrajo,the sometimes enigmatic pastor of San Elizario.Subtly capturing the spirit of the times and reflecting the flowof the narrative, the general design is in the tradition of excel-lence established by Carl Hertzog. Set in Caledonia, the text isnot only attractive but, even more important, extremely easy toread. Stylistic identification of the period is imaginatively set inthe use of Trocadero type in the chapter numerals, while theLegenda chapter titles provide an ingenious contrast.The illustrations created by Jos6 Cisneros are of uniformlyhigh quality and appear to the reviewer to be historically accu-rate in detail as well as excellent in artistic execution. Particu-larly good is the sketch that introduces Chapter II.In brief, The El Paso Salt War [z877] is a small gem of Texanathat is obviously calculated to bring a glow of satisfaction to col-lectors of fine Texas books for a long time to come.CHESTER V. KIELMANUniversity of Texas ArchivesDick Dowling at Sabine Pass. By Frank X. Tolbert. New York(McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.), 1962. Pp. 159. $3.95-On September 8, 1863, Lieutenant Dick Dowling and a smallcompany of Irish-Texan cannoneers at Sabine Pass defeated acombined effort by the Union army and navy to invade Texas.The success of the artillerymen was one of the major Confederatevictories which kept Texas from becoming a combat zone or anoccupied region during the American Civil War. Because of thedisparity between the opposing forces in favor of the Federals,the battle has since taken on legendary proportions for mostTexans.Frank Tolbert's account of the action at Sabine Pass may bedivided into three general parts. Three opening chapters provide